The Rise of Lord Voldemort
by Fading Memory
Summary: A new year, a new girl, and a whole new meaning of life...
1. A Time for Change

Disclamer: I only own A.J. and Maret. AFIN and Professor Louv're belongs to *AFIN*, Cory belongs to Katy713(I wonder if she is mad at me for using her character WITHOUT permission? *G*), and everyone else belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

A/N: For the first time in my life, I don't know what to PUT in an author's note! Anyway, I LOVE fanart of A.J.!! Maret is uh...well, okay. Oh, speaking of Maret, SHE IS A SPOOF OF A MARY-SUE. Get that through you think heads, will ya? If you flame me for a SPOOF you shall have the wrath of AJSolo on you.

The Rise of Lord Voldemort

**_Chapter 1_**

A Time for Change

"Harry!"

Harry Potter jumped at the sound of his name. He was standing in Platform 93/4, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to arrive. The station was very dark and damp since it was so early in the morning. He spun around to find himself face to face with his girlfriend, Michelle Rand Maree-Sue Raustinberge.

"Hey Maret!" Harry exclaimed, giving her a big hug. 

Maret returned the hug, laughing a nice, throaty laugh. "I see you remembered my secret name!"

Harry broke the embrace. "Well, it's pretty easy to remember, mainly since its not really a SECRET. Everyone calls you Maret, except for the teachers. They all call you Michelle."

"I didn't need to be told that! It's not like I could forget. By the way, why are you at the station so early? The train isn't scheduled to arrive for another two and half hours!" she said, glancing at her watch. "My plane from the United States came in early. "

Harry let out along and low sigh as they started walking around the platform, hand in hand. "Well, I had to fly my broom here. Uncle Vernon caught me letting Hedwig out of her cage, and he threw me out of the house! I couldn't believe it."

Maret was about to say something as a young girl bumped into her. "Watch where you are going!" Maret exclaimed.

"Geez, don't get so mad! I'm sorry, okay?" The young girl said, with quite an attitude. 

"Maret smiled at the girl, showing off her perfectly white, smooth, and straight teeth. "It's not really a problem. I'm Michelle Rand Maree-Sue Raustinberge, or Maret. Who are you? Is this your first year going to Hogwarts?"

The girl smiled, lighting up her whole face. It was obvious that her smile was the best thing about her appearance. "I'm Angelina Jadene Solo. My friends all call me A.J., that is, if I had any friends. First year? Do I really look that young?" A.J. laughed and shook her head. "Nope, I'm a seventh year."

"I'm the famous Harry Potter."

A.J. stared blankly at him. "Who?"

"You know, I'm Harry Potter. I survived Lord Voldemort as a baby."

"Never heard of you before," A.J. said, shaking her head.

Maret cut into the conversation. "Oh well. By any chance, do you know Fred and George Weasley? Don't you also have a sister, AFIN Solo?"

A.J. nodded. "Yeah, she is my younger sister, alright." AFIN was a sixth year Ravenclaw. "Oh yeah, I know the Weasley Twins. Who doesn't? I just don't know them very well since I'm in Hufflepuff and they are in Gryffindor."

Maret smiled. "Well, a pretty young girl like you has a good chance of getting a date with one of them."

A.J. shook her head, and stared at the ground. "I'm not pretty, you are."

A.J. did have a point. Maret was the most beautiful and popular girl going to Hogwarts. She was part Veela and Pixie, had long, gorgeous gold hair that had the most perfect curls. Her eyes were a mysterious silvery sea blue color, she was 5 foot, 5 inches, the perfect height, weighed 110 pounds, and was slender with a perfect medium dark tan. She also had a very beautiful Russian-American accent. A loud whistle startled the group as the Hogwarts Express pulled to the station.

"I'll see you two later!" A.J. yelled as she boarded the train.

Maret sighed. "Geez, what a strange girl. She seemed so nervous. I wonder why..." she said to Harry as they started walking towards the train.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. walked through the train, looking for an empty room so that she could sit down. 'I hope Harry and Maret didn't suspect anything about me,' she thought as she opened a door.

"Oh sorry. I'm such a ditz, I didn't realize anyone was in here," A.J. stammered.

The Weasley Twins, who were sitting across from each other, talking, smiled at her. "No problem. You can go ahead and sit in here if you would like," Fred calmly said.

She look around the room nervously, but sat down next to Fred, as close to the window as she could get. "Thanks," came the meek reply.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I already told you!" a young girl yelled, her voice getting higher with each word.

"I told you not to come back to this house until he was dead!" a man yelled, smacking the girl who burst into tears.

"I'm not like you! I h-have a h-heart!" she screamed.

"You will be punished tonight!" came the harsh reply, as darkness enclosed the young girl.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. snapped her eyes open. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep. The girl... A.J. could swear she had seen her somewhere before. The guy had seemed vaguely familiar, in a creepy sort of way. A.J. sighed as the train came to a stop at Hogwarts. She started to get a little excited. 'Finally, a year away from, no I must not say his name, even if it is only to myself,' A.J. thought as she hopped off the train and started walking towards the castle.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry entered the Great Hall and sat down by his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He could see A.J. sitting by herself at the Hufflepuff table.

"So, I met a strange seventh year on at the station, today." Harry said casually as he started to eat.

"Oh Harry, ALL 7th years are strange. Take a look at Fred and George!" Hermione said as Harry and Ron burst into laughter.

"But they've always been like that," Ron pointed out.

"No, wrong kind of strange. She seemed to be hiding something important," Harry explained.

"Harry, I would just stay out of her business if I were you. I mean, if she was hiding something for a reason, well, I'd just lay off," Ron said as he went back to eating.

"Oh, I'm so glad Snape is no longer teaching potions!" Hermione gushed, changing the subject as well. "Our new teacher is Professor Louv're."

"Subject changer," Ron mumbled under his breathe.

Harry sighed, "Oh, Snape is still teaching, though. He finally got the Defense Against the Dark Arts position." Hermione went into sulking.

Ron snickered. "Knowing Snape, he would probably teach us the Darks Arts instead of how to DEFEND against."


	2. Potions Class

Chapter 2 **__**

Chapter 2

Potions Class

"Hello class, my name is Professor Louv're and I will be your teacher for the next year."

"Hello," the class replied, quite dully.

Professor Louv're put her hands on her hips, "Well, don't sound so disappointed!" she said, laughing and several of the students joined in with her. "Well, today we will start with a basic 'Love Potion.'"

"A LOVE potion? Why in the bloody world would we need to learn about 'love potions?'" Dean Thomas said, very loudly.

Professor Louv're glanced at Dean. "Well, we will get to that, so just be patient!" Louv're cleared her throat. "Love potions are, well, for making people fall in love with you. The ingredients are-"

As Professor Louv're drowned on with the list of ingredients, Harry leaned over to Ron and whispered, "Bet you 10 galleons she'll still be listing ingredients in 10 minutes." Ron burst out laughing.

"Ronald Weasley! May I ask WHAT is SO funny?" Professor Louv're commanded.

Harry, who had fighting to control his laughter said, "He just kinda choked," he said. "You see, Ron has a little disease that makes him choke quite often."

Professor Louv're looked at Ron quite weirdly. "Okay, then, let's get started on our potions. You can start working on them in class. I want the potion and a report on it by tomorrow."

As the class left 30 minutes later, Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron, "I managed to complete two potions during class. What would you guys think if we gave one of them to Malfoy?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

The room was dark, and dripping with water. A young girl could be heard screaming in the room. "You can't force me to do it!"

"Oh yes I can!" a man yelled, smacking the girl across the face.

"Never!"

"I said yes!" the man roared, throwing the girl against the wall.

"Please stop doing this to me!" the girl stammered, unable to control her tears.

As the man walked closer to the girl, she started to scream, "No! You can't do this to me!"

"Oh yes I can!" the man bellowed as he lumbered towards the girl. "Remember MINE!"

What he said was true in every way, for the man was that young girl's father.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Malfoy has been hanging around Hermione all day!" Ron exclaimed. He and Harry were in the Gryffindor common room working on homework.

Harry, who had just finished his report on Love Potions, said, "She'll be stuck with him until next week." Ron gaped. "Well, maybe not that long," Harry quickly added.

"It may last a TAD bit longer than that, " Fred replied. George and he had just entered the common room. "and it...uh, is a lot stronger, too."

"Oh, bloody hell," Ron said. "What did you two do to that potion?"

George grinned evilly. "Nothing. Professor Louv're is teaching the 7th years more advanced love potions."

Fred's grin was identical to the one George was wearing. "He should be chasing Hermione for QUITE a while."

"Get that little twerp away from me!" Hermione yelled as she entered the common room. "Fred, George, you two did this, didn't you?" she said, seeing the grins on their faces.

"Just testing the potions...George, Lee and I," Fred replied calmly.

Ron started to laugh. "You mean to say, Malfoy has had four love potions, three of which were very advanced and were the same thing?"

George nodded, "Yep. Malfoy is going to be fun these next few months."

"A few months??" Hermione yelled and passed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. sighed and walked into the Potions dungeon. She took her seat near Fred and George, who just happed to be on either side of her. "Hey."

George smiled at her, "Hey. Another day of this sucky class."

"That's an understatement," A.J. smirked.

"We will be doing love potions for the rest of the year, " Fred said, mimicking Professor Louv're, which set A.J. and George into laughing fits.

"Fred and George Weasley, and A.J. Solo! Do you three need detention?" Professor Louv're asked.

"No," they said, fighting back laughter.

"Good. Today we will be doing the most advanced love potion, so pay attention."

AJ smiled, "Oh good, nap time!"

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I hope everyone understood that. I'm sorry we ran out of class time. For homework, you are too make this potion. It is due in two days. Class dismissed." Professor Louv're paused, "Fred, George, Lee, and A.J., could I please talk to you four for a minute?"

Fred glanced at A.J., George, and Lee and said, "Uh sure."

"You wanted to talk to me, Professor Louv're?" Hermione asked as she entered the room.

"Yes. Sit." All five of them sat. "I've heard some very interesting things about Draco Malfoy this past week. Can you explain?" They all shook their heads.

Professor Louv're sighed. "Why were you five testing LOVE POTIONS on Malfoy?"

Lee coughed. "We were just making sure our potions were correct."

Louv're crossed her arms, "What do you think would have happened if your potions weren't correct?" The group shrugged their shoulders. "He could have become seriously ill or have died!" Louv're was now yelling. "I want all of you to write a two page apology letter to him explaining all of this. I will look over the letters before you give them to him. You are dismissed."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Malfoy will take one coming from Hermione, but I'm not sure about everyone else," Ron said after Fred explained what Professor Louv're was making them do.

Harry laughed, "Yeah, but it would be pretty damn funny."

"Oh shut up!" George said.

"You guys aren't the ones who have to deal with the bloody guy. He has been following me around everywhere!" Hermoine yelled as she entered the common room. "He even tried to follow me into the girls' bathroom!"

The group burst out laughing.

"He's one love sick kid, alright. I wonder how much longer he's going to be like this?" Harry asked.

"Too friggin' long!" Hermione yelled as she stormed out of the common room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Malfoy glanced up to see Hermione walking past him. He was studying the Dark Ages at that moment. "What's up, Hermione?" He asked, standing beside her.

She looked at him weirdly, "Uh, not much. Her are some letters for you, OKAY?" She quickly left the library, not wanting to know what Malfoy would do when he read the apology letters from Fred, George, Lee and her. All Hermione knew was that the best idea would be to get away, fast.


	3. Snape

Chapter 3 **__**

Chapter 3

Snape

As Harry and Ron were walking towards Snape's class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ron suddenly stopped. "Harry, I've just realized something."

"What?"

"It's already early December, and we haven't lost ANY points from Snape," Ron exclaimed.

Harry sighed and continued walking. "Pretty amazing if you ask me. Of course, he finally got the job he's been chasing for years."

"You know, since that job is cursed, I wonder if Snape will leave next year?"

"Don't get your hopes up. This is Snape we're talking about, remember?"

Ron entered the classroom and said, "Yeah, who could possibly forget THAT?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. walked into a secret room and sat on a chair. She was completely stressed and well, quite terrified at the moment. "Why do I have to do it?" She asked herself. Sometimes life could be so...well, unfair. "That stupid, friggin' love pot-" A.J. stopped and hid behind a huge desk. She could have sworn she wasn't the only person in the room at the moment.

"I know someone is in here! Come out now!" It was Snape.

A.J. was about to stand up, but she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness fall over her, and she passed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You will have to go to Hogwarts to kill him. I will not be able to assist you." The girl's father said.

"I don't want to go," the girl replied, being extremely stubborn.

"You will go!" the man screamed, smacking the girl across the face, hard enough to draw blood.

"I'll run away before I'll kill him!"

The man picked his daughter up and threw her across the room, badly breaking her arm. "If you don't go, I will have to kill you!" he screamed, holding the girl at gun point. 

"Ok!!!! I'll go to Hogwarts! Just please don't kill me!" the girl said, crying so hard she could barely speak.

"Good. That's more like what I wanted to hear."

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. woke up to find herself in the Hospital Wing. 'Snape must have found me,' she thought. Looking around the wing, A.J. laid bad down and sighed. "Snape knows something," she said out loud, to no one in general.

"Snape, what happened?" Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledor, and Professor Snape were standing in the Hospital Wing, talking about something.

"I found her on the floor. Don't know what happened," Snape replied stiffly.

"Do you think he could be anywhere near Hogwarts?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore.

He cleared his throat. "I truthfully don't know for a change. He could be just about anywhere."

"The students will remain in school?" Snape asked.

"Yes, I will keep the school open until we start getting complaints from parents," Dumbledore calmly replied.

McGonagall looked at Dumbledore over the tops of her glasses. "Are you sure that is a wise thing to do?"

Dumbledore sighed, "We don't really have a choice Minerva."

Snape stood from his chair. "Well, I better go now," he said as he left the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Ron, did you hear what happened to that Hufflepuff seventh year yesterday?" Harry asked Ron as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day.

"Oh, you mean A.J. Solo. Yeah. My brothers know her," Ron replied as Maret walked over to them and sat down.

"Hey Harry," she said. "Who hasn't heard about that Solo girl? Wait, wasn't she the one we met at the train station?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. News sure does spread fast."

"I don't think we should even worry about her. After all, it is her business and not ours," Hermione said as she sat down and started to eat.

"Woke up late?" Ron asked Hermione as she shoved down her breakfast.

She glared at Ron. "No, I had to deal with Malfoy."

Maret's jaw dropped. "He's still following you around?" she said, snickering.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, he even had the nerves to ask me to switch houses just to be with him!" She stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.

Harry sighed. School was so confusing sometimes. He hadn't been getting along with Maret very well, and now this. He wished he could have had a normal life as he stood up and starting walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Good morning class," Snape said as everyone entered the classroom.

"Snape's on crack again!" Ron whispered to Harry as they sat down.

Snape cleared his throat. "I want no joking, laughing, or goofing off in class from now on. In fact, all of your classes will probably be like this. Quite. We will be preparing you for the rise of Lord Voldemort."


	4. A Strange Behavior

Chapter 4 **__**

Chapter 4

A Strange Behavior

It was Christmas Break and the entire school was in an uproar. Most of the students were too afraid to say Lord Voldemort, much less prepare to fight him. The first years were so scared, that tapping them on the shoulder could make them scream. Other students just wanted to be prepared for Lord Voldemort's rise to power.

Classes stunk for all of the students. There was so much homework to do that Quidditch was cancelled for the year. Most of the students had so much work that they were up until midnight or later trying to get all of it done.

To add to this, many of the students, mainly Slytherins, were acting quite weird. Surprisingly, A.J. seemed to be acting the weirdest. It was as if she was hiding something extremely important, that if let loose, could result in something serious.

"Just ignore her! She's a seventh year. What do you expect?" Ron said to Harry. They were discussing what had been going on in the castle lately.

"Do you think she could be connected to You-Know-Who?" George asked.

Harry shook his head. "Not likely, but I think she knows something about Voldemort." The group flinched at the sound of his name.

"What could she possibly know?" Fred wondered.

"I don't really know," Harry replied.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Look, I've said this enough times, leave the poor girl alone! Who said A.J. even knows something about You-Know-Who? That could just be the way she acts!"

George shook his head. "Nope. We have her for a few classes, remember? She usually really cheerful."

"Oh, well," Harry said as he stood from his chair. "We just need to start keeping an eye on this girl."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Professor Louv're walked into the Great Hall wearing the most stunning robes. In fact, they didn't really LOOK like robes at all. It was more of a dress, the kind a muggle woman would probably wear to a fancy dinner party. The robes had gold trim, was made of green velvet, and had red lacing. To top it off, her beautiful smile made her the second most attractive lady in Hogwarts.

Only Maret could have topped her, which she had done. Her long golden hair stood out perfectly with her robes, making her look like something out of a beautiful dream. She walked over to the table where A.J. and Fred were sitting, holding her body perfectly. "Hi! Mind if I sit down?"

A.J. turned in her chair, grinning evily. "No, you can't. You're too young."

Fred elbowed her in the arm and said, "Ignore her. She's just full of shit."

A.J. laughed as she waved to George and Lee. "I really am! My dad says my eyes show how much shit I'm full of. In other words, completely."

Maret and Fred snorted, both while eating.

A.J. had big brown eyes, or as she would put it, big brown turds. She also had brown hair with natural red streaks, which was a few inches past her armpits. She was quite short, only 5 foot 1, and hated being so short. She also had light freckles on her cheekbones which were getting darker every year.

"Oh god, there's Malfoy," Maret said as he walked past a group of 7th years, looking very mad. He stormed over to Hermione and stood in front of her.

"You filthy mudblood!" he yelled, his face getting red. The entire school stopped eating to see what would happen next. "Giving me LOVE potions?"

Hermione glared at him and rose to her full height. "Hey, at least I can MAKE one, unlike you."

Malfoy's face got even redder as the Gryffindors started laughing. "You better watch out, mudblood! You'll be next and sorry!" He yelled as she stormed off to the Slytherin table.

Harry starred as Malfoy stormed off. "I wonder what he meant by 'You'll be next and sorry.'?"

Ron nodded, agreeing. "You know it can't be good. This is Malfoy we're talking about here."

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. woke to find herself covered in sweat. She sighed and rolled onto her back. 'I've got to quit having these nightmares,' A.J. thought. She had been getting them ever since the time she had fallen asleep on the Hogwarts Express, back in September. 'I've got to talk to Madam Pomfrey about this. I mean, is it natural to have the same dream every few days, each time the picture getting clearer?' She sighed, pulling the blankets to her chin, hoping to sleep peacefully for a rest of the night.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Listen wench!" screamed the man.

"I'm not a wench!" the girl yelled back.

"Then what the hell are you?"

"I'm your daughter!"

"No daughter of mine would ever dare to act like this!"

"Well, maybe it's because I'm different!"

"Yes. That's TOO true. Your sister was much more loyal to me."

"Look, It's not my fault AFIN was so stupid!" she yelled, trying to hold back her tears.

"But then she had to start siding with you! Why do you think I had to kill AFIN?"

"You MONSTER!"

"Yes, young A.J. Solo, and you will learn to be loyal to me, or you shall never see your father again!"

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay, I think it's time we start watching A.J. She's started sneaking around the castle at night," Ron said as sat in front of the fire place in the Gryffindor common room. Since it was Christmas Break, most of the students had gone home to be with their families. 

Hermione entered the common room, carrying three huge mugs of hot chocolate and sat next to Harry, giving Ron and him each a mug. "What could she possibly be looking for?"

Harry shrugged. "Malfoy has been acting pretty strange lately, too."

"Do you think he could know something about A.J.?" Hermione asked.

"We better start keeping an eye on both of them." Ron said.

"Yeah, but what if they catch us?" Hermione wondered.

Harry looked into the fireplace. "Well, we'll just have to make sure they don't."


	5. The First Death

Chapter 5 **__**

Chapter 5

The First Death

Harry,

I thought I should tell you this before the rest of the school finds out. As you have probably heard, Lord Voldemort has risen to power. Many of us have reasons to believe that he is stronger than before. What I do know is that he is getting supporters and is headed to Hogwarts itself. Dumbledore should be announcing, if he hasn't already, the Aurors will be coming to guard Hogwarts. We don't know what Voldemort is after, but we are guessing it is you. Harry, I want you to promise me that you won't go sneaking around the castle grounds, that you will stay with someone. We are trying to stop Voldemort before he gets to Hogwarts, but there is a good chance we won't be able to do it.

Sirius

Harry sighed, putting down the letter. He was sitting in the Great Hall next to Ron and Hermione. He had been having a rough week and wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with Voldemort. Maret had broken up with him a week ago, but it still felt as though it had just happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry, we need to talk."

Harry looked at Maret weirdly, wondering what could possibly be wrong. "Sure," he said as he sat next to her. "What's wrong?"

She stuttered, trying to hold back her tears. "I-I think it's about time we broke up."

Harry stared at her blankly, brushing the hair that had fallen into his face. "But-why?" He asked, standing beside her.

"I just think it is time for us to get on with our lives..." Maret quietly replied.

"That's it? We should JUST get on with our lives?" Harry asked, and Maret slowly nodded. "Fine," he replied, leaving the common room and Maret to cry.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry, did you just hear a word I said?" Hermione asked, snapping him out of his daydream.

He glanced to see Ron with his mouth hanging open. "Uh, I guess not."

Hermione sighed. "I said, I'm going out with Malfoy."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, he asked me out and I said yes," Hermione replied sheepishly.

"Why?"

"Hehe! I asked the same bloody thing!" Ron said, laughing dully.

Suddenly, McGonagall came bursting into the Great Hall. Her face was white with shear terror. She walked over to Dumbledore, trying not to fall. She whispered something into his ear, and then walked away, using the wall to support herself.

As Dumbledore cleared his throat, the entire school fell silent. It wasn't even a normal silence, more like a creepy silence, when you know something bad is about to happen. "I want all students back to their houses immediately! There has been a death at Hogsmeade, and it is believed that Lord Voldemort killed the girl. Yes, a girl from HOGWARTS."

Gasps could be heard throughout the Great Hall as all the students started making their way to the houses.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I think I know who was killed." Harry said to Ron as they entered the common room.

"Who?"  
"Maret," Harry replied calmly.

"Did someone say my name?" Maret asked, standing from a chair. Her eyes were red, as though she had been crying for quite a while.

"I-I thought you were dead..." Harry said, looking at the floor.

Maret burst into tears. "That's what you wish! It was my twin sister who died. What's even worse, I FELT her die! We were connected...seeing we were twins." She fled up the stairs to the girls' dorm, and the entire common room could hear the door slam shut.

Harry shook his head sadly. "And I never even knew she had a twin."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry, WHAT do you think you are doing?" Ron exclaimed.

"Uhhh...nothing much."

"Oh, don't give me that. You're holding the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map. Uh-huh. Yeah, right. What are you doing?"

Harry sighed and sat onto the cold floor of the Boys' dorm. "Just going to Hogsmeade to-"

"-find the body," Ron finished for him. "Harry, you should listen to Sirius for a change and stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, and maybe YOU should start staying away from Hermione. You're starting to sound just like her."

Ron glared angrily at Harry. "Well, EXCUSE me for being worried about you." He threw Sirius' letter to Harry.

Harry picked up the letter and started re-reading it. Surprisingly, the letter made him deeply think of his Mum and Dad. He grabbed a quill and started writing a response to the letter. 

Hey Sirius,

Okay, I'll promise, even though I really don't want to. I'll stay with Ron or his brothers wherever I go. I have to ask, who is this WE you kept mentioning? I've got to go. It's late night and I'm bloody tired.

Harry

Harry signed his name and put the quill away. "I'll send it in the morning." Harry said as he put the cloak and map away.

"Good," Ron quickly responded.

"Don't sound so happy."

Ron looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry," he said as he got into bed.

"Yeah," Harry replied as he got back into his own bed and was soon fast asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dumbledore, we can't keep the school open!" McGonagall said. All of the teachers were standing in Dumbldore's office, discussing the death.

"We have no choice, Minerva. The students are safest here," Dumbledore replied.

"As long as they stay IN the castle," Hagrid added..

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, several of the classes with have to be moved into the castle, itself. Not even the grounds are safe anymore."

"Will O.W.L's, N.E.W.T's and the other exams continue as planned?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes, school will go on as normal, except for the fact that no one will be let into the castle, and no one will be let out."

"Are you sure that will be enough?" Sprout wondered.

Dumbledore sighed again. "I really don't know. That is why the Aurors should be here tomorrow."

"Voldemort won't dare attack the school, itself?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Only if someone is helping him from the INSIDE of the school."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm going," Harry said.

"Going where?" Hermione asked quietly.

"To Hogsmeade."

Ron shook his head. "No." They were walking back to the common room after dinner in the Great Hall.

"Ron, you can't stop me," Harry replied, almost walking through Nearly Headless Nick.

Ron sighed sadly. "Don't you even remember your promise to Sirius?"

Harry nodded and then grinned. "Yeah, I remember alright. That's why you and Hermione are coming with me."


	6. Meeting Prongs

Chapter 6 **__**

Chapter 6

Meeting Prongs

"I can't bloody believe we are ACTUALLY doing this! After a death and all, Harry, you must be positively out of your mind!" Hermione cried as she came out of the Girls' Dorm to meet Harry and Ron.

Harry walked over to her, carrying the map and cloak. "No one said you had to come."

"Oh, and let you two go alone? I think not!" Hermione exclaimed as Ron came out of the Boys' dorm, yawning. He looked as though he was still half asleep.

"Harry, you know we re-really shouldn't be doing this." Ron said, trying to stifle a yawn.

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron. "Voldemort killed my parents. If it wasn't for Voldemort, I wouldn't be stuck with the Dursleys." Hermione and Ron both flinched at the sound of his name.

"Quit saying You-Know-Who's name!" Ron yelled.

"Be quiet! We don't want to wake up half the house, do we?" Hermione hissed at Ron.

"Sorry," he mumbled back to Hermione.

Hermione sat down with her jaw set. "Harry, don't go. It's too dangerous."

"Listen, I've run into Voldemort enough times to know how to deal with him."

"Yes, but you never faced him at fully power," Ron pointed out. "He's a full grown wizard and you're only a kid."

"Voldemort's smart enough to know not to stick around at the scene of a crime." That shut both Hermione and Ron up.

"I still say it's not a very good idea," Ron said.

Harry shrugged and threw the cloak over his shoulders, and grabbed the map. "I'm still going, with or without you two."

Hermione and Ron walked over to Harry and got under the cloak. "Well, there's not much else to do..." Ron mumbled as they walked out of the common room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

As the group snuck through the castle, they talked in low voices.

"What are we looking for?" Ron asked.

"Clues from Voldemort," Harry replied, sounding quite annoyed. "Haven't I told you two enough times?" he asked, almost tripping over Mrs. Norris.

Ron sniggered. "If you keep tripping over things, Filch is going to catch us."

Harry threw off the cloak, giving it to Hermione, and then climbed into the secret passageway leading to Hogsmeade. "Hermione, you stay here and guard the entrance. Ron and I will go to Hogsmeade."

She sat onto the hard, cold floor on the dungeon. "And how exactly am I suppose to do that?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Make sure no one follows us. "Watch out for anything unusual," he said as Ron and he climbed through the passageway and disappeared from sight.

Hermione pulled the cloak around herself, sighing. It wasn't like she had a crush on Harry, far from it, she just got quite worried about him when he did stupid things. 'Of course, he's always doing something stupid,' she thought, smirking to herself. 'Sometimes Harry can be so annoying. It's like he doesn't even care about his life anymore.'

Then there was the thing with Malfoy. She didn't really know WHY she had decided to go out with him. In fact, it was quite strange the way his attitude had suddenly changed. One day he is cussing out muggles, and the next day he is practically going out with one. 'Oh well,' Hermione thought. 'Boys will be boys,' she thought, wondering just how long Harry and Ron were going to be gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry, we aren't going to the Shrieking Shack, are we?"

"Yes, Ron, of course we are going there. How many more times do I have to explain this to you?" That shut Ron up right away.

"Geez, someone's in a bad mood today."

Harry sighed, staring at the ground as Ron and he continued walking through the streets of Hogsmeade. The rip through the secret passage had been quiet uneventful, which was bothering Harry. It had been too quite, as though someone had been watching them. He didn't trust it and was keeping his eyes peeled. Harry hadn't told Ron this, yet. No reason for getting Ron into an uproar over nothing.

As they neared the shack, Ron suddenly let out a violent shudder. "I really don't trust this place."

"Hey, we know all about it. No reason to be afraid."

"Yeah, but it still is a pretty creepy place to be. Never knowing if someone is hiding in the dark."

Harry pulled the boards off a window and climbed in. "What isn't there can't hurt you."

"Er, right," Ron replied, following him into the shack.

As they entered the shack, the first thing they noticed was the lack of dust. It looked like someone had tried to clean the shack, but Harry knew that wasn't it. There were even pieces of new furniture throughout the house. It LOOKED like someone was moving into the house.

"What was that?" Ron mumbled, his voice cracking with fear.

"What?"

"It sounded like...Harry, I don't think we are the only ones here right now!"

"Oh, well," Harry said. "Just keep walking."

Ron screamed bloody murder as a cold hand grabbed him roughly. Both Harry and Ron spun around to find themselves face to face with none other than A.J..

"What are you doing here?!" Harry asked.

"I was wondering the same thing about you," she replied .Her voice was filled with coldness and her eyes looked stony cold. "Shouldn't both of you be at the school?"

"No crap, and you?" Harry coldly replied.

"Listen, it's none of your business WHAT I'm doing here," A.J. snarled.

"We will just get out of your way then." Ron said, trying to push past her.

"I-I wouldn't go exploring this house if I were you." Her voice was suddenly full of fear.

"Well, you're not us," Ron said as Harry and he walked past her and deeper into the house.

A.J. sighed as Harry and Ron walked away. 'They have no idea WHAT or WHO they are going to run into,' she thought. 'But hey, it won't be my fault. I mean, I did warn them...'

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ron, I just thought of something," Harry said as Ron and he walked through the darkened halls of the Shrieking Shack.

"What?"

"What the heck was Maret's sister doing at Hogsmeade, if it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend?

Ron stopped in his tracks. "Good point. In fact, really good point."

"Do you think she was looking for something?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we should talk to Maret about this."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not talking to Maret unless I have to do it."

"I told you guys not to come in here!"

Harry and Ron spun around to find A.J. staring at them.

"Since when did we have to start listening to you?" Harry snarled.

A.J. stared at him. "Since NOW."

"Bossy, aren't we?" Ron asked, crossing his arms.

"I just don't want to be responsible for anything," A.J. replied. "If you two don't go back to the castle, now, I'll just have to talk to Dumbledore."

"You're out here, too. How the heck are you going to explain that?" Harry asked.

A.J. slowly looked at him. "Say I found the map, watched both of you leave." She took the map out of her pocket, holding it in front of them. "Your choice."

"Fine," Harry snarled, and Ron and he started walking back to the open window, with A.J. close at their heels.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Nothing?" Hermione asked, sounding quite disappointed. Harry, Ron, and she were sitting in the common room by the fire, drinking hot chocolate. It was January and the common room could get quite cold if the wind was blowing hard enough.

Harry shook his head sadly. "Nope. A.J. stopped us before we could find anything."

"She must have gotten to Hogsmeade before you because no one else went to that secret passage," Hermione said.

"Yeah, maybe watching and following us," Ron suggested.

Harry sighed and stood from his chair. "We'll just have to figure it out in the morning. We've got classes tomorrow, remember?"

Ron stood up and started following Harry up to the Boys' Dorm. "Yeah, who could possibly forget THAT?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!" Professor Louv're said as the class filled into the room. "Since we are preparing for the rise of You-Know-Who, I will be having you do a lot more love potions."

Hermoine's hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Professor Louv're asked.

"Just wondering, what do love potions have to do with preparing for the rise of You-Know-You?" Hermione asked as she lowered her hand.

Professor Louv're opened her mouth to reply as Professor McGonagall walked into the room. She looked quite angry, "Dumbledore wants to talk to you now, Louv're," McGonagall said. Her lips had gone completely white.

Professor Louv're smiled. "Of course! I shall go right now," she said as McGonagall and she walked out of the classroom.

"I wonder why Dumbledore needs to talk to Louv're?" Ron asked Harry after the professors had left.

"I don't really know..."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Professor Louv're walked into Dumbledore's office and sat in a huge armchair. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Dumbledore smiled at her. "Yes, actually, I do. I've been hearing some mighty strange things that have been going on lately."

"Like what?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Like love potions. Did you not know that love potions are banned from Hogwarts?"

The color starting draining from Louv're's face. "No...I mean yes, NO! Of course not!"

"Alina Louv're, you will be leaving this school in one week. I suggest you use that time wisely," Dumbledore gravely said.

"Please! Don't do that! Who will you get to teach potions?"

"I shall find someone else. In the mean time, I suggest you start packing your belongings."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Since I cannot have you running around telling everyone my secret, I shall have to use a memory charm on you," the man said, staring out a window.

A.J.'s face suddenly went pale. "M-memory charm? But then I won't even remember who I am!"

"That is the idea."

"Dad, please! I'll do anything, ANYTHING!"

"Then you shall go to Hogwarts and kill HIM. No complaints."

A.J. gulped and then slowly nodded her head. "Yes, sir."

"That's more like it!" her father said, smiling. He turned to her, still smiling. "You may go to your room now."

A.J. turned away, and started walking towards her bedroom. Her face was almost pure white now, as though she had just seen a ghost. 'Something isn't right,' A.J. thought. 'Dad almost never smiles. Wait, he isn't even my real father! Maybe I should just start calling him by his first name. Of course if I do that, I'll probably just end up like AFIN, dead.'

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry, this is so stupid," Ron said as Harry and he walked down the streets of Hogsmeade the next night. "What if A.J. catches us again?"

Harry continued staring straight ahead. "She shouldn't. I asked Fred and George to keep an eye on her."

"Like that will do anything?"

Harry shrugged. "Hey, it's worth a try."

As Harry and Ron climbed through the open window of the Shrieking Shack, they both suddenly stopped.

"Sirius?" They said in unison. A huge, black and shaggy dog was lying in the middle of the floor. The dog transformed into a human revealing Sirius Black.

"I thought I would be seeing both of you here tonight," Sirius said. "Harry, didn't I tell you not to go wondering out at night?"

Harry gulped. "Yeah, but you said alone. I'm with Ron! Hey! Did you just see that?" he asked, blinking his eyes.

"See what?" Ron and Sirius asked in unison.

"That figure..." Harry replied, with a very mysterious voice.

Harry turned away from Ron and Siruis to look at the figure again. The figure looked as though it was the ghost of someone Harry had known, or at least seen. The man looked so familiar. He even had the same messy black hair as Harry. It could have only been-

"D-dad?" Harry stuttered.

The figure looked at Harry with pain all through his eyes, and slowly nodded a yes.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, not sure if he should believe what he had just seen. Harry opened his eyes again, but James Potter had disappeared, as though he had never really been there. Harry spun around to see Ron and Sirius staring at him. "I saw my dad!" He was completely breathless.

Sirius sighed. "Harry, sit down." Harry sat. "As Voldemort gets more powerful, the ghosts of all the people he has killed start coming back to life. The ghosts only stay for a few seconds, but they are still here, even if we can't see them. Voldemort is as powerful as he was the night he tried to kill you, Harry. I would not be surprised if by the time he has reached full power, the ghosts will be living and breathing people. This is truly the rise of Lord Voldemort."


	7. The Second Death

Chapter 7 **__**

Chapter 7

The Second Death

"I wonder if Sirius is right about You-Know-Who coming to power again?" Ron was asking Harry. They were sitting in the common room discusing what had happened in the Shrieking Shack to Hermione. It was still early morning, so many of the students were still asleep.

"Of course it is true. Where were you all of last year? By the time You-Know-Who has come to full power, he will probably be able to take over the world," Hermione sighed. "There may be nothing that can stop him."

Harry suddenly snapped his fingers. "I wonder if my dad was the reason AJ told us to get out of the Shrieking Shack last time?"

Ron shook his head sadly. "Harry, Sirius and I didn't see your dad."

"Well, maybe you have to be related to the person. I mean, AJ could have seen her dead sister, AFIN," Harry argued.

"But why would these ghosts be visiting us?" Hermione asked.

Ron shrugged. "They could be trying to help us."

Harry scratched his head. "But that still doesn't explain how AJ got a hold of the map. Also, who said AFIN was killed by Voldemort? For all we know it could have been a car accident that killed her."

Hermione looked at Harry weirdly. "What do you mean? AJ couldn't have gotten the map. I had it that night."

"You did?" Ron asked, sounding quite shocked.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah."

Harry looked at them. "Maybe she just had an old piece of parchment. I mean, we never really did look at it."

"So does anyone know who the new potions teacher will be?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

"No idea, and I have a feeling that I don't want to know who it is," Ron quickly replied.

"Oh well. We've got today and tomorrow until we have to get back to school," Harry mumbled.

"Yes, this will probably make a good subject for Rita Skeeter to do," Hermoine growled.

"But I thought you had caught her?" Harry asked.

Hermione's eyes suddenly turned to stone. "Yeah, but then my dear old twin sister, Cory, let her out."

"Rita Skeeter is back in business?" George asked as Fred and he walked into the common room.

"Yep," Harry, Hermione, and Ron said together.

"Oh, crap," The twins said in unison.

"I wonder how much stuff she will have on Harry?" Fred asked as he sat in one of the chairs.

Harry glared at the ceiling. "Too much."

Ron chuckled at Harry.

Hermione looked over at George, who was being awfully quiet. "What's up?"

"Nothing!" George quickly said. Too quickly in fact.

Fred smiled evilly. "Oh, he just asked a girl out."

The group stared at Fred and George. "Who?"

The gin on Fred's face got even bigger. "A.J."

Hermione gasped."She said no, didn't she?"

"Hey! Quit discussing my love life!" George bellowed.

Harry smiled at him. "So you ARE going out with her!"

George's face suddenly went beet red. "So?"

"I'm leaving," Harry yelled to the group as he left the common room. "Geez, I sure do hope Rita Skeeter finds someone else to report," he mumbled to himself, once outside the common room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey Weasley! Is your girlfriend going to pass out? We need to make sure that we are following behind her with a mattress in case she faints!"

George sat down by Fred, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Slimy Slytherin gits. Although, I do wonder what they are talking about?"

"Weasley, you may want to read this," Malfoy snared, throwing a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of the George. George picked it up and began to it.

__

The Next Harry Potter?

A.J. Solo, a shy Hogwarts seventh year, could actually become the next Harry Potter, writes Rita Skeeter. Over the course of the school year, young A.J. has passed out several times, claiming that she has been having mysterious dreams. "She is probably desperate for attention," Draco Malfoy, a fifth year, said during an interview. "It's quite amazing what some people will do for attention." The dreams are almost certainly fake, for A.J. has not spoken once to Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, about them. "I bet she just doesn't want to get caught," said fifth year Pansy Parkison, Draco's girlfriend. Wether it is a lie or not, Dumbledore may want to keep an eye on A.J., who is know going out with George Weasley.

"But...but, I'm going out with Malfoy!" Hermione stuttered after she had finished reading her copy of the Daily Prophet.

Harry looked at the group. "Shoot, I didn't even know about the dreams."

George shook his head. "Neither did I, until now that is."

Ron glared at Hermione. "And you said Cory released that Skeeter cow?"

Hermione's face went red. "Well, it was really my fault. I had left the jar on the kitchen table, and Cory let her out. She's always had a little thing with seeing a living creature locked away."

"I wonder how many other rumors will be buzzing around the school by next week?" Fred asked as A.J. walked into the Great Hall talking to a Hufflepuff seventh year. She looked as though she could kill.

"She has probably seen the Prophet," George said to no one in general.

"Gosh, you think?" Harry replied sarcastically.

"You're going to just love our new potions teacher," Fred said, grinning evilly.

"This CAN'T be good," Ron said as he started walking out of the Great Hall to Potions Call. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and then went running after Ron.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You wench! You broke my wand!" A.J.'s father yelled.

AFIN stood her ground, barely breathing. "So?" she said icily.

He pulled out a gun. "I need my wand. I can't use guns to kill everyone, know can I?"

"Sure you can," AFIN replied.

"You wench!" He screamed as he threw he across the room.

"What the heck is going on?" A.J. demanded. She was out of breath for she had just ran from her bedroom.

"None of your business," their father growled.

"It is too my business. She's my friggin' sister," A.J. yelled.

AFIN glanced over to A.J. "Let me deal with this!" she mouthed as A.J. shook her head stubbornly.

The man turned around to face AFIN and pulled the trigger on the gun. The bullet went so fast that AFIN didn't have time to duckbefore it lodged itself into her head.

"AFIN, NO!! How could you?" A.J. yelled, weeping uncontrollably.

He smiled and threw the gun onto the table. "Simple, she broke my wand."

A.J. slowly lost vision as her tears spilt out. "You monster! You complete monster!" she yelled as she ran toward her room, leaving her father smiling happily to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Maret stood outside the castle letting the breeze flow through her golden hair. She looked into the starry sky, which, for the first time since she could remember, was cloudless. She screamed as a person grabbed her roughly from behind. The person was wearing all black, including a face mask, so it was impossible to tell who it was.

The stranger suddenly pulled a dagger from their cloak and started thrusting the dagger repeatedly into Maret's chest as she screamed in pain. As Maret felt to the ground, dead, the killer bent over her, stood back up, licked their dagger clean, and put it back into their cloak. Their suddenly started making a run back up to the castle. There was no doubt about it, the killer was a student.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"We need to talk," Cho Chang said to Hermione and Pansy Parkison in the Great Hall the next day. Cho happened to be looking quite lethal at the moment.

"What?!" Pansy demanded.

"What the heck is going on with you two and Draco? He's goingout with me," Cho said.

Hermione's eyes suddenly widened. "No, I'm going out with him."

"We better figure this out fast, mudbloods," Pansy snarled.

Cho slapped Pansy. "Don't you EVER call me that again, you slimy piece of Slytherin filth!"

Pansy stood from her chair. She had grown quite a bit over the year, and was now taller than Cho. "Excuse me, but MY boyfriend is coming to see me," she said as she walked off.

Cho glared down at Hermione. "It wasn't my fault. He just asked me out. I honestly had no idea about any of this," Hermione stammered.

Cho slowly nodded, but still gave Hermione a very icy look. "Fine," she mumbled as she walked away. Almost as soon as she had left, A.J. came and sat by Hermione.

"This is just what I think, but don't trust Cho," A.J. said, keeping her voice down.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Something isn't right with that girl. I have a feeling she is plotting something."

Hermoine looked at her skeptically. "What makes you say that?"

"I've been watching her sneak around the castle at night," A.J. said.

"And why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Because, you're going out with Malfoy."

"Who said I could even trust you?" Hermione asked.

A.J. shook her head as she stood from the table. " No one, you will just have to trust yourself. I'm warning you, trust no one....NO ONE."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dumbledore! There's been another student death," Professor McGonagall panted. She had just run from the Hogwarts grounds to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore looked up from his work. His eyes expressed how tired he really was. "Who was it?"

"Michelle Raustinberg."

Dumbledore's eyes suddenly widened. "Isn't that the sister of the last girl who died?"

Professor McGonagall sadly nodded her head. "Yes Headmaster."

"Do you have any idea who or what killed this girl?" Dumbledore asked Professor McGonagall as they started quickly walking towards the Hogwarts grounds.

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "It looks like some kind of wild animal got Miss Raustinberg, but she wasn't even found in the Forbidden Forest."

"Where was she found?"

"Right there."

Dumbledore had just opened the doors to the grounds. Not five feet from where he stood was young Maret's body. Maret's body was so badly beaten up that it was hardly recognizable. It was completely mangled, and her face was almost entirely gone. The only way you could possible tell it was Maret was by the golden necklace she was wearing, with her name inscribed on it.

"Well, an animal certainly did get her," Dumbledore observed. "But something else had happened before that. It looks as though she had been stabbed to death."

McGonagall shuddered violently. "Do you thinkwild animals did everything else to her?"

Dumbledore sadly nodded his head.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Maret's dead," Harry said, his voice was very hollow. He was sitting in the common room with Hermione and Ron.

Hermione gasped. "How do you know?"

"I heard Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall talking about it, and I haven't seen her all morning."

Hermione shook her head. "Neither have I."

"My main question is, who would want to kill Maret and her twin sister?" Ron said.

Harry shook his head. "I have no idea. Could have been an American hater."

Hermione looked skeptically at Harry. "I think a lot more people would have been killed if that were the case."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and it's not like Maret did anything wrong. Well, besides be perfect. She could have been the perfect prefect."

Harry grinned. "But do we know if she had done anything wrong?"

"I never thought of it that way before," Ron mumbled.

"Harry, ignore all of this. It probably has nothing to do with you," Hermione said in a motherly fashion. "If You-Know-Who wanted you bad enough, you'd be dead already."

Harry nodded. "I guess you're right. But what is really starting to creep me out is the fact that I've starting seeing my Mum and Dad more often. They seem to be more solid each time, too."

"You-Know-Who is getting more powerful," said Hermione.

Harry nodded. "Only this time no one will be able to stop him**.:**

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I thought I told you to go to Hogwarts?" A.J.'s father coldly asked.

"Yeah, but school doesn't start for another two weeks," she replied stiffly.

"Do you think I care?" he roared.

"No," A.J. responded, trembling ever so slightly.

"Do you think I want you in my house?"

She sighed wearily. "Nope."

"Do you think that I even want to look at you?" he said, sounding quite disgusted.

"Then why did you even take me away from my true dad?" she screamed.

"Why do you think?" he asked evilly.

A.J. shrugged helplessly.

"Because I need you to kill him," her father said calmly.

"And what about AFIN? Why did you take her? Wasn't I enough? Or course, you had to go and kill her, didn't you?" A.J. yelled.

"Shut up!" he screamed.

"That's all you care about isn't it? Killing innocent people!"

He smacked A.J. across the face, hard enough to draw blood. "When I say shut up, I MEAN shut up, wench!"

A.J. stared him in the eyes, determined to hold back her tears. "Fine," she yelled as she ran away from him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione burst into the common room. She was crying and her face was ghostly white.

"Hermione, what's wrong?!" Ron exclaimed as Harry and he jumped up to comfort her.

"I-I saw th-the ghosts of m-my parents!" she said between sobs. "They're dead. You-Know-Who got them!"

"Oh my gosh, Hermione, that's awful! I'm so sorry," Harry said sympathetically. "What about Cory?"

Hermione sniffed. "She's fine."

Harry sat back down. "I guess the killing has finally begun."

*~*~*~*~*~*


	8. A Small Price to Pay

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A Small Price to Pay

"No, no, I've got it! Snape could be the one killing all the students," Ron said excitedly as Harry and he walked back to the common room after eating dinner in the Great Hall.

Harry looked at Ron weirdly, jumping over the trick step that led to the common room. "Snape? You've got to be kidding me. He's actually been human this year!"

Ron snickered as he stopped to admire some paintings hanging on the castle wall. "You-Know-Who has weird supporters, remember? Just look at Wormtail," he said as they continued their walk to the tower. 

"Excuse me, coming through!" Parvati Patil yelled as she pushed her way past Harry and Ron, headed for the Gryffindor tower.

Harry moved just in time to avoid being run over by Parvati. "Oh yeah, Old Voldie is surely up Snape's hide," he said sarcastically to Ron.

Ron, still thinking his idea was true said, "Maybe You-Know-Who is mad at Snape. After all, Snape was a former Death Eater."

"Doesn't mean Snape went crying back to Voldemort," Harry stubbornly replied.

"Maybe we should just ask Hermione what she thinks," Ron said as they stopped infront of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Pumpkin Potions." He said the common room password as she swung open.

Harry shook his head as they entered the crowded and noisy common room. "Not such a good idea. Hermione is in denial about her parents right now. I think anyone would be, though."

Parvati walked over to Harry from across the common room. "You two are talking about Hermione, right?"

Harry and Ron both nodded.

Parvati sighed sadly. "It's gotten worse. Hermione won't even get out of bed any more. She draws her curtains together, locks them, and then cries! I'm so worried about her."

Harry glanced at Ron, whose face had gone white. "She wouldn't commit suicide, would she?" Ron stuttered, his eyes opened widely.

Parvati looked at Ron. "I really don't know. Hermione refuses to talk to anyone. She only comes out for classes. The poor girl won't even eat or go down to the library."

"Please tell me you are joking," Harry gasped, staring at Parvati.

She shook her head sadly. "I can't say I'm not. I've never seen anyone like this before. She is really starting worry me, and everyone else."

Harry and Ron stared at each other, unable to believe what they had just heard. "This can't be happening!" Ron finally said, breaking the few moments silence.

"Oh, but it is. Voldemort is coming back to power, and the killing has already started," Harry said, staring off into space.

Parvati's eyes widened as her chin started trembling. "I need to go now," she muttered as she started walking up the stairs to the Girls' Dorm.

Harry watched as Parvati walked up the stairs, tuning out the other conversations that were going on in the common room. "How much do you want to bet that the whole school will be in an uproar by next week?" He asked, turning to face Ron.

Ron stared at the ceiling, not wanting to show Harry his fear. "Shouldn't take too terribly long. I'm just wondering about what is going to happen to all of us."

*~*~*~*~*~*

A.J. slipped into one of the many secret rooms of Hogwarts. She needed to be alone, far away from all the other students. She sighed sadly and sat onto an old and dusty chair, which nearly cracked under her weight. 

'This isn't fair,' she thought, her eyes wondering around the room, as if searching for another body hiding in the shadows, waiting for her to reveal all of her innermost secrets that she had been hiding from the school.

"I'm getting blamed for killing Maret and her sister, even though I didn't do it," she said out loud, thinking that she was alone in the room.

"Not everyone believes that," a voice from behind her said as the person laid a hand on her shoulder. 

A.J. jumped from the chair, startled by the voice, and the fact that she wasn't the only person in the room. She spun around to find George. "What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously, her voice quivering ever so slightly.

George stood his ground, crossing her arms over his chest. "I followed you here of course."

A.J. started to tremble, but it was barely noticeable. "Why?" It wasn't in a cold tone of voice, but instead a simple question.

George looked over to her and sat onto an old chair. "You're hiding something from the school, A.J."

A.J. stared at him. "H-how do you know?"

"You've been acting very weird, sneaking around the castle. Come on, you're defentully hiding something from me and the rest of the school."

She started pacing back and forth, now extrememly worried. "I-I can't say anything," she muttered, staring at the ground.

George gently lifted her head to look at him. "A.J., we're all starting to worry about you."

A.J. spun away from George, unable to face him anymore. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeves. 'You have no idea what it feels like to be responsible for so many lost lives,' she thought.

"I've got to go," A.J. said as she quickly left the room, leaving George to figure out what had just happened. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Another student is dead, Headmaster," Snape said as he went bursting into Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore's eyes, which usually twinkled, were now a dull grey, snapped open. "Which student was it, Severus?"

Snape hung his head sadly. "Hermione Granger."

"How did she die?" Dumbledore said as he and Snape started walking towards the Hospital Wing. They were both walking quite fast, and had to avoid smashing into several students.

"We have no idea WHAT happened," Madam Pomfrey sadly replied

"Albus! Severus! Wait!" Professor McGonagall yelled down the hall, trying to get their attention. "Miss Granger is still alive!"

Inside the Hospital Wing, Hermione was lying in a bed, staring at the ceiling with a dazed expression on her face.

"We think she is in a state of shock," Pomfrey explained, standing in the doorway with Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore walked over to Hermione, studying her face, looking for clues for what might have happened to her. "What happened, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, his voice was calm and soothing.

Hermione looked at Dumbledore, her eyes were a glossy white and they looked empty. "A-a girl..."

"Keep going," Dumbledore said, trying to get more information out of her.

Hermione's eyes started coming in and out of focus. "She...tried to kill me...must have been...seventh year..." she said, her voice trailing off.

Dumbledore looked sadly at Pomfrey. "Where was she found?"

Pomfrey glanced up from looking at Hermione. "In front of the Hufflepuff common room."

"Severus, please bring A.J. Solo to me for questioning," Dumbledore sternly said.

"You don't think?" McGonagall started to ask.

Dumbledore started walking towards the door. "I never said that she did it, but it is better to be safe than sorry."

"I shall fetch her now. Send Miss Solo to your office?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore gravely nodded as he left the Hospital Wing, headed for his office.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" A.J. asked as she entered Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes. Go ahead and sit down."

A.J. sat, staring at the floor.

"I wanted to talk to you about Miss Granger," Dumbledore said softly.

A.J. shuddered violently. "I didn't do anything to her."

"Miss Solo, I haven't accused you yet, but all the evidence which we have points directly at you."

"But why would I want to try and kill Hermione?" A.J. asked, her voice full of fear.

Dumbledore looked gravely at her. "A.J., I know who your father is, remember?"

A.J. stared at him. "But...but, he's not even my real father!"

"I never said he was, I just wasn't sure if part of him had rubbed off onto you. I've know you for seven years, A.J., and this is the first time you have ever acted like this."

A.J. shrugged and shook her head. "Doesn't mean that I did it."

Dumbledore sighed. "You may be excused."

A.J. stood from her chair and started walking towards the door. "I really didn't do it..." she mumbled as she walked out of Dumbledore's office.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Everything is going according to plan, my Lord," came a high and squeaky voice.

A tall man, with a cold and cruel face stepped into the light beam from the flashlight held by the squeaky man. "Very good, Wormtail. I have decided not to kill you tonight." The voice was pure evil and full of coldness. It could have only belonged to one person, Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort grabbed the flashlight from Wormtail and starting shining the light around the room, revealing the all too familiar features of the Shrieking Shack. As he moved the beam around the shack, it fell upon no other than A.J. Solo.

"You called, my Lord?" she asked coldly.

"Yes, young A.J. How is the killing going?" Voldemort asked, smiling.

A.J.'s eyes narrowed as she stared at the floor. "Very well, my Lord."

Voldemort grinned broadly. "You shall make a fine Death Eater once you grow up a little more. Who told you to start killing anyway?"

"My father, Lord."

"Yes, very good thing you have a Death Eater for a father, young one."

"Quite," she quickly replied, knowing that it wouldn't be a good idea to get on Voldemort's bad side.

"You don't want to be late for your meeting with Harry Potter and his red-headed freak," Voldemort said. "Stupid gits, trying to find Chrissy Raustinberg's body."

A.J. started walking from the room and towards the entrance of the shack.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as Ron and he ran into A.J.. Voldemort and Wormtail were hiding in the shadows, listening in on the conversation.

"I was wondering the same thing about you," A.J. said. "Shouldn't both of you be at the school?"

"No crap, and you?" Harry snapped at her.

"Listen, it's none of your business what I'm doing here," A.J. snarled.

"All is going according as planned, Wormtail," Voldemort whispered in the shadows as both of them dissapperated far from Hogwarts to continue their plan for world domination.

*~*~*~*~*~*

__

Destroying the World

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has risen to power, and is after the world, writes reporter Rita Skeeter. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had started his rise back to power right after the Triwizard Tournament. People just weren't to sure how long it would take him to rise to full power again. Even though He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hasn't risen to full power yet, he is still more powerful than that fateful night when he tried to kill Harry Potter, leaving him powerless and almost dead. "The Ministry of Magic is doing all that it possibly can," Cornelius Fudge said during an interview. "We have specialy trained Aurors searching the world for You-Know-Who' and his Death Eaters." Hundreds upon hundreds of muggles have been killed, and many of their cities have been completely destroyed. Many of the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and other schools of Magic have been interviewed about the rise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. One student from Hogwarts, seventh year A.J. Solo, refused to have any say on the rise. Many of the students from Hogwarts say that she is hiding something, and that it would not be wise to trust her. Many people have also started to claim that they have been seeing the ghosts of the people killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Whether this is some run away rumor is quite unknown. We can only hope and pray that we can stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named before he can complete his plans for world domination.

Harry re-read the article for the fifth time, wondering if he should believe it or not.

"Earth to Harry, Earth to Harry. Do you read me?" Ron joked tapping him on the shoulder.

Harry's eyes snapped back into focus. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Ron and he were sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. It was the last day of school until Spring Break, and most of the school was in an uproar, making it quite hard to hear anything. "Oh, yeah. I'm just not too sure if I should believe this article or not."

"Who wrote it?"

"Rita Skeeter," Harry responded instantly.

Ron threw his head back and started laughing. "Oh yeah! You can really trust that article!" he said, extremely sarcastically.

"She may actually be telling the truth this time," Harry replied.

Ron snorted his pudding. "Right, and Snape is going to adopt you. Harry, come on, this is that Skeeter Cow. She couldn't write a truthful article to save her life. When did you get such a big change of heart for that Skeeter woman, anyway?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I haven't...just with the rise of Lord Voldemort, she might be so scared that she is actually going to try to write something truthful.

"Okay, Harry. Believe what you want...but I doubt that it is true. Cory released her, and now the world wizarding world is stuck with Skeeter again," Ron said, trying to talk some sense into Harry.

Harry was about to respond as a high pitched scream echoed through the Great Hall. A.J. came bursting into the Great Hall, panting extremely hard. "Another student...dead," She said, trying to hold her balance. She slowly walked over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down with her friends.

Harry and Ron stared at each other. "Another death?" Ron quietly asked.

Harry slowed nodded. "Yeah, and I bet A.J. did it, too. I mean, what was she doing out of the Great Hall?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

Across the Great Hall, all of the Professors, including Dumbledore had started quickly walking out of the hall towards the scene of the crime.

"I really do wonder who died this time," Ron said curiously. "That person probably has some kind of relation to Maret and her sister."

A.J. suddenly stood from the Hufflepuff and started walking towards Harry and Ron. "I know who was killed, and who killed the person," she said. Her voice was full of coldness, and she was glaring angrily at Harry and Ron.

Ron stared at A.J. "How do you know?"

A.J. smiled evilly. "Simply, the person tried to kill me first.

Harry, who was know wondering who had been doing all the killing, asked. "So, who was it?"

A.J. started at him strangely, as though she had a dark and dangerous secret. "Oh, it was Cho Chang."

*~*~*~*~*~*


	9. The Third Death

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Third Death

"Cho Chang?" Harry gasped, almost choking on his breakfast.

A.J. nodded. "Yes," she said coldly.

Ron, like Harry, couldn't believe his ears. "But, why would Cho want to kill people?"

"Because she is evil, pure evil," A.J. said, her dark eyes narrowing on Ron.

Ron shuttered violently. "That really doesn't sound like something Cho would actually try to pull, though."

"How well do you even know her?" A.J. asked darkly.

Harry started to argue, but decided not to press the matter. "Er, I guess maybe you're right."

A.J. smiled evily. "Of course I'm right. Anywho, no sense in bothering you two anymore," she said as she started walking away.

Harry glanced at Ron and then yelled at A.J.. "Wait!"

A.J. spun around, looking quite annoyed "What?" she demanded as she stormed back towards the Gryffindor table.

"You said you know who has been killed?" Harry asked, staring A.J. in the eyes.

"Yes," she responded in a tone of voice that even Voldemort himself would have feared.

"Would, could you er…" Harry quickly gulped, "tell us who was killed?"

A.J., who was still using that terrifying voice, said, "Why?"

Ron, who had kept his mouth shut during most of this, decided that he should finally have his say. "Because You-Know-Who is after Harry."

A.J. quickly sat between Ron and Harry. Her dark eyes were full of fear. "It's not Harry that Voldemort is after" she said, lowering his voice so that they could barely hear her. "Voldemort is just killing everyone. He doesn't care who it is."

Ron stared blankly at A.J. "Say You-Know-Who!!"

"Who do you know that?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"THAT is none of your concern," A.J. said as she walked back towards the Hufflepuff table.

"We better go and find out who was killed!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Harry shook his head stubbornly. "No…Dumbledore will take care of it."

Ron looked at Harry weirdly. "Why don't you want to go and check it out?"

Harry sighed and started looking around the Great Hall. Most of the students were quietly talking about the death among themselves. Still, there were quite a few students who were acting like nothing had happened. "Because, maybe A.J. is right about Voldemort. Maybe he's not after me."

Ron stared at Harry blankly. "That thought has never stopped you from checking things out before."

Harry shrugged and stood from the Gryffindor table. "Things change, I guess," he said as he started walking out of the Great Hall and towards potions class. 

Ron sighed sadly. 'Harry usually doesn't act like this,' he thought. 'Something has got to be terribly wrong with him.' Ron jumped from his chair and started running to class, not wanting to be late. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Good morning class," the potions teacher sweetly said as Harry and Ron entered the dungeon.

They both sat down and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Their potions teacher was none other than Professor Louv're.

"But…I thought she was sacked!" Ron exclaimed, gaping at the teacher.

"She was! I mean, no one has seen her for a month," Harry replied, unable to believe his eyes.

"Quiet down class," the professor said. It seemed as though Harry and Ron weren't the only two to notice that Professor Louv're was back to teach. "Now, I understand how awkward this is for all you you, seeing as though I'm your third potions teacher this year. Many of you may have also realized that I bear a striking resemblance to your first potions teacher this year, Professor Louv're."

"That's an understatement," Ron said loudly, forgetting to keep his voice down when talking to Harry.

The professor glanced weirdly at Ron, but didn't say anything to him. "I am actually Alina Louv're's twin sister. We are nothing a like, so don't worry!" she said, seeing the worried looks on the students' faces.

Dean Thomas slowly raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Thomas?" The professor asked.

Dean smirked. "Well, it would kind of help all of us if we er…knew your name." Several snickers arose from the class.

The professor smiled. "Right, my name is Maple Louv're."

"So are we going back to love potions?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

Professor Louv're looked at Seamus like he was out of his mind. "Of course not! Love potions are strictly forbidden here at Hogwarts."

Seamus slowly nodded. "Ahhhh…"

"Now, enough talking.," Professor Louv're said sternly. "You have already wasted half the year on love potions," she said, cringing when she said 'love potions.' "There is a lot of work to get done, so I would suggest it would be in everyone's best interest to pay attention."

Harry stared at Ron. "Boy, she sure knows what is going on!" he whispered as they started getting their notebooks and books out for class.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Headmaster, we must close the school. It cannot remain open!" Professor McGonagall screamed as she went storming into Dumbledore's office. "There have already been three deaths! We cannot afford any more."

"Maret and Chrissy Raustinberge, and Hermione Granger have all died mysterious deaths. All of them have had their blood sucked away," Professor Louv're said, who was on Professor McGonagall's side.

Dumbledore's eyes turned to stone. "No."

"What?" Professor Louv're and Professor McGongall asked in unison.

"I said no. the school must remain open. It is still the safest place from Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore sternly said.

"But, Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed in shock. "We have already had three deaths! We cannot risk anymore."

Dumbledore stared at Professor McGonagall blankly. "They would have died sooner and more painful deaths if they hadn't been here at Hogwarts."

Professor Louv're and Professor McGongall nodded as they slowly left Dumbledore's office. Once outside, Professor Louv're leaned over to Professor McGonagall and whispered, "We might as well just kill the students before we leave them at THIS school."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hermione's dead," Ron yelled as he went running into the Gryffindor common room, which had been extremely noisy. Suddenly, everyone stopped talking. All eyes were fixated on Ron.

"You're joking, right?" Harry asked, unable to believe this ears. "I mean, they thought she was dead once before."

Ron walked solemnly over to his friend and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "No…I'm-I'm sorry…" Ron said, his voice trailing off.

All color seemed to drain from Harry's face. He had been quite fond of Hermione and this had been the biggest blow of his life. Harry could feel the tears starting to form, but he was too embarrassed to cry in front of Ron and the rest of the common room. 

"Wait a minute," Seamus cut in. "I thought all of You-Know-Who's victims were coming back to life?"

Harry looked over to Seamus. "Good point," he said. "In fact, really good point. I better write to my friend…he happens to know a lot about Voldemort." Harry grabbed a piece of paper and a quil, and quickly started writing a letter to his friend.

Sirius,

Just a little question about the rise of Lord Voldemort. You said that all of the people that he has killed would start coming back to life. Well, Hermione was killed, we don't know how she died yet, so does that mean she will be coming back to life? Please respond as soon as possible. Thanks,

Harry

Harry jumped from his chair, grabbed a piefce of rope and rushed over to Hedwig's cage. He slowly opened the cage door as Hedwig flew out and perched on Harry's arm. Trying to hold his arm still, which Hedwig was perched on, Harry slowly tied the letter onto Hedwig's leg, threw his arm out of the tower window, and watched her fly off into the distance.

"I hope this _friend_ replies soon," Ron said as harry sat back into his chair.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned into the huge armchair. "Me too, Ron. Me too…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

__

Mysterious Deaths

There have been several so called "mysterious" deaths this year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, writes reporter Rita Skeeter. Michelle Ran Maree-Sue and Chrissy Raustinberge, and Hermione Granger have all died puzzling deaths at, or near Hogwarts. All of the bodies were found severely stabbed, but surprisingly, not a trace of blood was found inside or outside of the bodies. Many researchers believe that animals may have drunk the blood from these poor, defenseless girls, but other evidence points in a different direction. On the side of the girls' necks were tiny bite marks, about two inches apart. The bites were first thought to be simple bug bites, but further investigation showed otherwise. The bites appeared to have been made by a pair of fangs, and researchers have found that all the blood had been sucked from the bodies from those holes. Many people are starting to wonder if vampires are real, and if so, if they are connected to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The world will just have to watch and wait, going to sleep every night, wondering if they will ever wake up again.

Harry finished reading the Daily Prophet and started looking around the Great Hall. Much of the conversation was over the Daily Prophet article. Harry grimaced as he turned to look at the Slytherin table, seeing them all look so happy. He turned back to the Gryffindor table, picked up Sirius' letter, which had just arrived that morning, and began to read it.

Harry,

I'm quite sorry, but your young friend Hermione Granger will not be coming back to life, nor the other people Voldemort has killed this year. That we I kept mentioning in my last letter is myself and several Aurors. We also thought all of Voldemort's victims would come back to life, but they haven't and probably won't. Better run-

Sirius

Harry slowly lowered the letter onto the table. He could feel hot tears running down the side of his face, but for once, he really didn't care.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked, noticing the tears. He quickly picked up Sirius' letter and began to read it. Ron's face was an unatural ghostly white even before he had finished reading the letter, which he had let drop from his hands. "Oh god Harry, I'm terribly sorry," Ron said, who was on the verge of tears. 

Harry closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Cho Chang threw her black hair back and startled walking towards Harry, who had just entered the Great Hall for dinner. "Harry, I'm terribly sorry about what happened to your friend, Hermione Granger," she said as she walked along side him.

Harry nodded without even bothering to glance up.

Cho roughly grabbed Harry's arm and spun him around so that he faced her. "You don't understand just how sorry I am, since I was the one who killed Hermione."

Harry gasped loudly. "It was you?!"

Cho hung her looking, not wanting to meet Harry's stare. "Yes, but I killed the wrong girl," she said. "That coffin…that funeral was meant for A.J. Solo.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	10. A Past Revealed

Chapter 10

(A/N: Starting on this chapter, Fallen*Angel has filled in as the beta reader since Becker Wein couldn't do it because of some "computer issues.")

Chapter 10

A Past Revealed

A.J. and Cho sat nervously in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron had dragged them to the common room for some serious questioning. Most of the Gryffindors were sitting there in there, including Dumbledore himself.

"Look," Cho said, breaking the silence. "None of this would have happened if A.J. hadn't been connected to You-Know-Who." A.J. glared at Cho as she continued talking. "I tried to kill A.J. several times, but I always ended up killing the wrong girl."

"So you're the one who killed Chrissy, Maret, and Hermione?" Seamus asked.

"Yes, but I had been after A.J.," Cho replied coldly.

"But why would you want to kill A.J.? Maybe she is connected to You-Know-Who, but she hasn't done anything harmful," George said, coming to A.J.'s aid.

Cho threw her head back and starting laughing insanely. "That's what you and everyone else thinks. Maybe it's time for our friend here," Cho pointed towards A.J., "to reveal her past."

A.J., who had remained quiet during this entire ordeal, finally raised her head to the group. "What do you mean?"

Cho stared into her eyes. "Exactly what I just aid. Tell these people who you really are, and what you were sent to do. Don't even think about leaving out detail, and starting in the middle."

Dumbledore, who was sitting in a huge armchair said, "Yes, A.J., let's hear your side of the story."

A.J. gulped but started talking. "I was transferred here from Durmstrang. Alright, I was EXPELLED from Durmstrang," she quickly added, seeing the look on Dumbledore's face.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"They found out that I was the daughter of a Death Eater."

Parvati gasped loudly. "Which one?"

A.J.'s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Lucius Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy's dad?" Ron asked.

"Yes," she replied with a sigh. 

"I don't believe it!" Cho gasped, backing out of her armchair so fast that it toppled over. "Lucius sent you to Hogwarts to kill his own son?"

A.J. glared angrily at Cho. "Took you that long to figure it out, eh? After you went snooping through all my personal belongings." Cho started to scowl, but A.J. ignored Cho and kept talking. "Maybe you should spill your secrets about the deaths!" She said, shouting hysterically.

"Fine," Cho replied in a tone of voice that expressed all of her hatred for A.J.. "I killed them all, on accident, of course."

"Their deaths weren't accidents and you know it!" A.J. yelled as tears rolled down the side of her face.

"Okay, fine! Have it your way!" Cho yelled back, throwing her arms into the air. "I had to kill all the girls, they all saw me try to murder A.J.! Chrissy and Maret were both too easy. I'm not even sure if Maret saw me pull a knife on A.J., but I couldn't risk it. I had to kill Maret. Hermione was a problem, though. She wanted to die the first time."

"Then explain what happened to the blood!" Harry snapped, his anger getting the best of him.

"Simple," Cho replied, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm a vampire. Ask A.J. about me, she should know everything."

Gasps of shock arose around the common room as all eyes focused on A.J.

A.J., seeing that everyone was looking towards her, waiting for an explanation, let out a weary sigh. "I've been tracking Cho ever since I came to Hogwarts. I did a lot of vampire research in the library after my classes. Once I realized that Cho was a vampire, I started to wonder about Draco, and why his father wanted me to kill him. I mean, you know how pale both of them are. Anywho, then it dawned on me. Harry, you may not be able to believe this, but that's alright."

Harry nodded his head to show that he understood.

"Lucius couldn't stand the thought that Draco wanted to become an Auror instead of a Death Eater. Ever since you two met in Madam Malkin's robe shop, ("How did she find out about that?" Ron whispered to Harry.) Draco has always looked up to you."

Harry stared blankly at A.J. "How do you know?"

A.J. shrugged her shoulders. "Easy, I'm his big sister."

"But then shouldn't you be A.J. Malfoy instead of A.J. Solo?" George asked.

A.J. shook her head fiercely. "Lucius took AFIN and I away from our true father when we were just babies. I don't even remember what he looks like."

"So what kind of connection do Malfoy and Cho have?" Neville asked, speaking to A.J. for the first time in his life.

"They're both vampires," A.J. quickly replied.

"I don't believe you," Parvati angrily said.

A.J. looked quite startled. "What?"

"I said, I don't believe you, and nobody should. I mean, how can we trust you after you lied to us the entire year? We can't believe anything that you are saying," Parvati coldly said.

"Parvati does have a point," Fred said, glancing around the common room, seeing the fear in the students' faces.

A.J., who was very near tears again, said, "Believe what you want to believe, but don't blame me if Voldemort kills every single one of you."

"How do you know about You-Know-Who?" Dean growled. "You're right Parvati, we CAN'T trust this girl," he said, pointing his index finger at A.J..

"You're right, you can't trust me," A.J. said through clenched teeth. "I've killed once and I can do it again!" she yelled, letting her tears flow freely.

Cho let out a small gasp and then starting walking out of the common room, yelling at A.J. as she left. "How could you?! You murderer!" 

Dumbledore sat there, his face turning to stone, but kept him mouth shut, knowing it was the only way .A.J. would have enough guts to say anything else.

A.J. watched Cho storm out of the common room and then looked back at the group surrounding her. "Now, where were we?" she menaced.

Gulps could be heard around the common room.

A.J. suddenly jumped from her chair and started pacing around the common room. "You just flat refuse to believe me, don't you?" I know where Voldemort is hiding, and I know exactly what he is after."

"You ARE evil," Harry finally breathed.

"No, I'm not!" A.J. shouted at him.

"Yes you are," Ron said, coming to aid Harry. "You killed Malfoy without reason, didn't you?"

A.J. looked at Ron. "I've already told you. Lucius told me to kill him."

"So if Lucius told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" Seamus asked.

A.J. shook her head. "He threatened to kill me, and he has abused me! Lucius killed AFIN just for breaking his wand! Who knows what he would have done to me if I hadn't agreed to come to Hogwarts." She was so hysterical that her voice pitch was rising with every word. 

George looked into A.J.'s eyes and then spoke up. "Okay, we believe you. Now, what about your dreams?"

"Lucius enters my mind, replays things that he has done to me, usually when I was abused. He even made me witness AFIN's death again, as a reminder of what would happen to me if I didn't carry out his orders," A.J. hiccupped.

Dumbledore looked at her gravely. "Now, what do you know about Voldemort?"

A.J. stopped crying, and her eyes suddenly hardened. "Everything." Her voice was cold and emotionless, making shivers run down Harry's spine.

"Please do tell us," Dumbledore softly said.

A.J. bit her bottom lip, but didn't object. "He's near Hogwarts, in Hogsmeade in fact, hiding in the Shrieking Shack." She paused for a minute, but continued talking. "He plans to attack Hogwarts any day now."

"Do you know when?" Ron asked.

"No, but I can find out!" A.J. said, practically shouting with excitement. "All I have to do is ask, since he'll tell me anything. I mean, I see him practically every week. Harry, Ron, you two come with me, just in case."

A.J. didn't have to say in case what, Harry and Ron already knew what she meant.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ah, young Solo. What do you need this time?" Voldemort asked as A.J. entered the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Ron quickly ran into the shadows to avoid being found.

A.J. smiled evilly. "When shall we attack Hogwarts?"

"Why should I tell you?" Traitor! Bringing Harry Potter and his Red-Headed Freak here!" Voldemort roared. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at A.J. "Avada Kedavra!!" A brilliant flash of green light blinded them all, followed by a girl's shriek of terror.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	11. The Last Battle

Chapter 11

The Last Battle

"Come Wormtail, let us leave this Shack. It is time to enter Hogwarts," Voldemort said as he strolled past A.J.'s body, which lay upon the floor. "We shall just leave Harry Potter and his redheaded freak here. They won't be able to stop us with our plans."

"Yes my Lord," Wormtail squeaked, trembling so much that he nearly tripped over A.J.'s body. Wormtail followed Voldemort out of the Shrieking Shack and into the darkness of the night, heading for the Hogwarts castle.

Once Voldemort and Wormtail were out of sight, A.J. pushed herself into a sitting position, getting her head off the cold and dusty floorboards. She slowly started rubbing the back of her head, where she had hit the floor.

'God, how long have I been like this?' she thought. "Harry? Ron?" she called into the darkened shack.

"I'm here," Harry said groggily, struggling to pull himself free from under a table. "Not all too sure where Ron went, we got separated…" Harry's eyes suddenly widened, showing all of his fear. Not ten feet away from him was Ron.

Ron was lying on the floorboards. He was in a spread eagle position, and his face was a ghostly white. Ron's mouth was open as though he was screaming in terror.

A.J. starred at Ron, unable to find her voice. "Gosh…I must have passed out, and Ron must have been standing behind me or something…"

Harry didn't reply, for he didn't know what to say.

"Harry, we've got to get out of here before Voldemort gets to Hogwarts!" A.J. yelled.

"W-what about Ron?"

A.J. grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him out of the Shrieking Shack. "Harry, he's dead, and we've got to get back to the castle before more students are killed!" she screamed as they took off running at top speed towards the Hogwarts Castle.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dumbledore!" A.J. cried as she was storming into his office. It had taken a quite a while to figure out the password, but after yelling every single candy name she could possibly think of, A.J. had finally been allowed it.

"A.J.! Whatever is the matter?" Dumbledore asked, surprised to see her.

"Voldemort," she said panting, "is planning to attack the school!"

"Calm down, calm down."

"I AM calm!!" She yelled, but sat into on of the chairs, and started taking deep breathes. "He plans to attack the school.."

Dumbledore looked her into the eyes. "Do you have any idea when he will be attacking?"

A.J. stared into her lap, gulping and looked up to Dumbledore. "Tonight, I'm pretty sure of it."

Dumbledore was just about to respond as a huge explosion rocked the school. A.J. and Dumbledore were both thrown clear across the room, smashing into the wall. As they ducked down, trying to protect their necks and heads, pieces of wall and ceiling started raining down on them. 

"What's going on?" A.J. yelled to Dumbledore, desperately trying to be heard over the roar of the school collapsing.

"Voldemort has attacked the school!" Dumbledore yelled back as loud as he could. Still, A.J. had to strain to here him. "He's just showing us how much power he has!!"

Then suddenly, without warning, the floor beneath them gave way, and A.J. and Dumbledore felt themselves falling down into the heart of the castle. They could hear the terrified screams from the students and teachers, and in fact, were screaming themselves. 

'Oh god, what's happening?' A.J. thought, unable to believe that Hogwarts was really falling down. She closed her eyes and smashed onto the concrete, where the castle had once stood. A.J. opened her eyes and the site nearly made her pass out. 

The entire castle was gone; it was just a pile of rubble and brick lying around. Around her, she could here people screaming in pain and pure terror. She tried standing up, to help everyone, but toppled over. 'Geeze, that fall must have really gotten to me. Wait a second…where's Dumbledore?' She thought, suddenly becoming extremely worried. 

Using the few pieces of the Hogwarts Castle, which still were standing, she managed to pull herself up, and the site that met her was astonishing. Voldemort and Dumbledore were standing face-to-face, wands ready. A.J., who didn't want to get involved in the battle, quickly sprinted away to go and help those who were injured, or worse, dead.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Voldemort and Dumbledore stood ajar from each other, their eyes full of hatred and everything else. There was an eerie silence, the clouds overhead, swirling with evil, and either one of the wizards was ready to pull a spell within a moments notice. But instead, they started to circle each other, spitting out harsh words.

"Soooooo, Dumbledore, you finally found the guts to face to me," Voldemort cackled, poking Dumbledore in the stomach with his wand.

"No, I just never had a need to face you again," Dumbledore said, refusing to be pulled into Voldemort's deadly trap.

"You were always the chicken, even your parents said so," Voldemort said grinning broadly. "Face it Albus, you can't hide away from who you really are, BROTHER."

Dumbledore's grip on his wand was so tight that he knuckles had turned white. "I refuse to call you my brother," he said, without flinching a muscle.

Voldemort laughed evilly. "You know I'm your brother, and there is absolutely NOTHING you can do about the fact."

Dumbledore stopped dead in his tracks and stared Voldemort into the eyes. ""Blood is not what makes the brother, love is, something you will never understand."

"Oh, I would be too sure about that one, brother."

"Quit calling me brother!" Dumbledore roared, losing control of his temper for the first time in his life. He pushed his wand into Voldemort's chest. "Have any last words, brother?" he demanded.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry?" A.J. called out, searching for the lost students, who were buried under the rubble. It was quite hard to walk, seeing the fact that she didn't want to step onto any of the students.

"Over here!" Harry called back, waving his arms into the air. He was standing over Parvati Patil's body.

A.J. quickly ran over to Harry, trying to avoid the pieces of debris. "How many dead students have you found?" she asked, her voice filled with sadness.

Harry bit his bottom lip. "You don't want to know."

"Yes, I do."

Harry sighed. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

A.J. nodded her head quickly.

"Fifty five students so far, but we keep finding more," he replied, brushing a tear off the side of his cheek.

"Oh my God…anybody we know?" A.J. asked, her lower lip trembling.

"Well, most of them were Slytherins because they are almost as high as the Gryffindor Tower. We Gryffindors were all in the Great Hall, so everything kind of fell onto us," Harry said, showing her all of his cuts and scraps.

A.J. nodded and started to pick up the pieces of brick, searching for the rest of the missing students.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Voldemort smiled. "You're learning quickly, brother. Going to kill me, eh?"

Dumbledore didn't say anything, but stared Voldemort in the eyes.

"Well, you can't kill me if I kill you first, now can you?" Voldemort asked, his wand pointed at Dumbledore. 

"Avada Kedavra!" Dumbledore and Voldemort roared at the same time. There was a brilliant flash of green light as screams of terror arose around the Hogwarts grounds.

A.J. and many of the other students who weren't wounded went running over to the scene of the crime. The sight that met her eyes was astonishing.

Both Dumbledore and Voldemort lay on the ground, dead. The two greatest wizards in history had finally killed each other.

"A.J., come on, we better go and recover the rest of the bodies," Harry said, tapping her gently on the shoulder.

A.J. spun around to find Harry and Ron standing behind her. "Ron? But…I thought you were dead!" she finally gasped.

Harry looked at A.J. "I thought he was dead, too."

Ron smirked. "Well, I fell out of the place where I was hiding. I thought I was dead for sure, but You-Know-Who was paying more attention to A.J." he said, jerking his thumb towards her. "I had to play possum so that he wouldn't try to kill me, too."

"But why didn't you get up after Voldemort had left?" A.J. asked suspiciously.

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I wasn't paying too much attention."

A.J. nodded and said, "Well, I guess we better go and start rescuing our friends…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Angelina Jadene Solo, you are brought in front of the court today for charges of murder, using Avada Kedavra. Cho Chang has also been brought to the attention of the court for murdering three students in cold blood," Cornelius Fudge said, addressing the courthouse.

It had taken several days to recover all of the bodies, and many of them were badly mangled. The death toll of the students was around sixty but just about everyone who survived had been badly injured. They had been rushed to the nearest wizard hospital for immediate help. Rebuilding the castle had started right away, for there would be school next year.

"Cho Chang, do you have anything to say in defense of yourself?" Fudge asked Cho, waiting for a reply.

Cho glared at him, but said, "I have nothing to say."

"Fine, the punishment for Cho Chang, who turned 17 four months ago, making her of age to go to Azkaban, will have a life sentence in Azkaban for killing three innocent people. If the court has something to say about this, please do so now," Fudge gravely said, but not a soul moved and dared to speak.

The court room was so quite, that even the smallest noise seemed to be ten times louder; from the sound of a person sneezing to a pin dropping on the floor. The floor was bare and cold, just like the rest of the room. It expressed everybody's fears for being in the same room as two murderers.

"Angelina Jadene Solo, who is just of age as of yesterday, has not only killed Draco Malfoy, but she was connected to Lord Voldemort. But, she also warned the school about his plans to attack. Her punishment shall be a lifetime in Azkaban. Guards, take them away!" Fudge roared as two huge guards went lumbering towards A.J. and Cho, getting ready to take them to Azkaban where they would spend the next few years of their lives suffering for their crimes.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	12. A New Beginning

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A New Beginning

"Is everyone alright?" Molly Weasley screamed as she went running up to catch George, Fred, Ron, Ginny, and Harry at the train station. "I heard about Hogwarts!"

"Mum, we're all fine," George said as Mrs. Weasley did something not quite so surprising. She grabbed both of the twins and pulled them into a tight embrace.

"Ouch, Mum! Be careful!" Fred shouted as he as George smacked their heads together.

But Mrs. Weasley was still holding the twins tightly. "And too think that the last thing I said to you was about how I didn't want you two to make a joke shop! You could have died at the school!" Tears had started rolling down her cheeks, but Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to notice.

"Mum, we really didn't get injured," George said, pulling away from his mother. "I just got a broken wrist, and Fred has only minor cuts and bruises."

"But it could have been worse!" Mrs. Weasley hysterically said as the group started walking along the train tracks. She grabbed Ron and pulled him into a hug. "Just to think I may have never seen my children again!" she wailed.

Fred, George and Ron just looked at each other.

"And Harry! He could have been killed! I don't care WHAT his aunt and uncle say, he's staying at the Burrow this summer!" Mrs. Weasley sternly said. "I'm going to keep him under my watchful eye! I swear, none of you boys, or Ginny! (She suddenly pulled Ginny into an embrace) will be out of my site for one moment this summer!

"Oh boy! What a fun summer this will be!" George mumbled as they started to walk out of the train station and towards the Burrow.

*~*~*~*~*~*

__

One More Death

Friday night, a long trail of blood was found in Angelina Jadene Solo's cell in the wizarding prison, Azkaban, writes reporter Rita Skeeter. The body was never found. Many people believe that she committed suicide, and that the Dementors had already disposed of her, but we shall never know the truth. This is the story of what truly happened during that horrible night at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the names of all the students who died at Hogwarts this year.

As many people know already, You-Know-Who had risen to power, killing not only wizards, but also Muggles who knew absouluty nothing about magic. Many people believed that he was after World Domination, which wasn't too hard to believe. But further investigation on this subject showed otherwise. It shocked researchers everywhere, and not many people of the general public believe that You-Know-Who is actually Albus Dumbledore's, the former Headmaster at Hogwarts, brother.

"Well, we think You-Know-Who sought revenge after Dumbledore, we just aren't too sure as to WHY yet," Cornelius Fudge said during an interview a few days ago. "Why he would want to kill other people besides Dumbledore is beyond me."

On May 25th, the Hogwarts Castle collapsed, showing off the power of You-Know-Who. He showed the entire wizarding world that he had enough power to knock down entire buildings. The death toll was astonishing. 45 students were killed in the accident, and hundreds more badly injured.

Gryffindors Killed: Hermione Granger, Chrissy Raustinberge, Michelle Rand Maree-Sue Raustinberge, Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Kayle Sando, Dean Thomas, Shawna Smith, James Patrick, Jake Stevenson, Patty LaBelle, Hallie Sullivan, and Britanny Maloy.

Hufflepuffs Killed: Anna Miller, Steve Thomson, Horance Goodman, Stevie Wonder, Lily Muchon, Stephania Mills, May Goodwin, Josh Littlewind, Mary Sue, and Rosha Nelson.

Ravenclaws Killed: Daisy Connell, Kristy Neil, Beth Anderson, Debbie Hobbs, Jamie Kambrich, Patrick, Hughs, Ormi Goode, Adiel Goode, Gillion Goode, Neil Tomsan,

Slytherins Killed: Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson, Raven Smith, Ariel Landings, Della O'Conner, Pete Conrad, Suki Thomas, Hannah Fear, Robin Wein, Sammie Hays, Karen Willus, Laura Waldren, Leah Organic, Laya Rand, Wittney Spears.

After this disaster, all we can do is watch and wait, hoping for the best to come of the world. In the mean time, we must start rebuilding our homes and communities. Angelina Jadene Solo will remain in the minds of the people in this world for the fact that she warned Albus Dumbledore about the attack. If though young Angelina was still able to warn the school, You-Know-Who still managed to kill Dumbledore. We can finally breath a sigh of relief, and say the name Voldemort without going into panic. We can truly say that THIS was the terrifying Rise of Lord Voldemort.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The End


End file.
